Device for forming a contour line



May 2, 1967 s. A. AIJALA 3,316,641

DEVICE FOR FORMING A CONTOUR LINE Fiied April 25, 1965 2 Sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR. F I 2 SULO A. AIJAL ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,316,641 DEVICE FOR FURMING A CONTOUR LINE Sulo A. Aijala, Attleboro, Mass., assignor to Inlricate Machine & Engineering Inc., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Apr. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 450,468 3 Claims. (Cl. 3318) This invention relates to a device for forming a contour line such as might be used for reproducing a persons name or the producing of a contour in a welding machine where small parts are to be welded one after the other along an irregular line or for forming a reproduction of various patterns.

The machine or device essentially controls a member, which may be a pen, in its movement in two directions in a single plane with an arrangement for lifting the member from the plane inte-rmittently as desired providing a third direction of movement. The invention is carried out by means of a rotating shaft turning uniformly in one direction and utilizing this rotating shaft for reciprocating two units by a cam means and then combining the motion of the two units to provide the desired movement in any direction or over an area in a single plane of two directional dimensions in such area, and also motion in a third direction toward and from said plane may be had to vary the pressure on a writing member or to remove it from the plane of operation.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a simple device by which a persons name or any contour of two dimensions may be followed accurately.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which in writing a persons name may lift from the paper and return to the paper at a spaced point which might occur between the first and last name of a person who does not run all of a name together.

Another object of the device is to provide two parts to control the movement of the writing member which parts may be easily removed from the device and taken by two different parties for security.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device by which different pressures may be provided on a markedupon paper which might be utilized in the shading of a persons name where broad and line lines are characteristic.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the device with the writing member removed;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan views on a larger scale showing extremes of movement of the part which mounts the writing member.

In proceeding with this invention, I have provided a frame in which there is mounted two reciprocal units each slidable relative to the other along parallel lines. A spring energizes these units in one direction while a pair of cams, one engaging one unit and the other engaging the other unit, move the units either together or one relative to the other depending upon the motion desired. The marking member is controlled by pivoting it around a fixed pivot with relation to one of the units and slidably pivoting and guiding it with respect to the other unit. Thus movement in one direction over the markedupon area may be provided by a swinging of the writing member, while movement along the 'area in the other direction may be provided by sliding the units in their 3,316,641 Patented May 2, 1967 frame. By providing some means upon another face of a cam, the unit may be lifted slightly or completely from the area upon which it is marking so as to vary the pressure which the writing member may have on the markedupon surface.

With reference to the drawings, 10 designates a boxlike generally lrectangular tubular frame supported by legs 11 at suitable locations. A first slidable unit 12 comprising rods 14 and 15 and cross bars 16 and 17 is slidably mounted in the side walls 18 and 19 of the frame 10 by means of bearings 20 fixed in the side walls 18 and 19. A long spring 21 connected as at 13 to the bar 16 and to the side wall 19 urges the unit to the right as shown in FIG. 1. A second slidable unit 22 comprises rods 23 and 24 connected by cross bars 25 `and 26 also slidably mounted in the side walls 18 and 19 by means of bearings 27. A spring 28 connected as at 29 to the bar and to the side Wall 19 serves to urge the unit 22 tothe right as seen in FIG. l.

An electric motor 30 drives pulley 31 which in turn drives gear belt 32 to drive pulley 33 on shaft 34 which drives worm 35 meshing with worm gear 36 on shaft 37 upon which shaft there is mounted two cams 38 and 39 so as to rotate together with the shaft 37. Cam 38 engages a pin 40 projecting from the cross bar 16 of the unit 12 while spring 21holds the pin 40 in engagement with the cam 38. Cam 39 engages pin 41 projecting from the cross bar 25 and spring 28 holds this pin in engagement with the cam 39. Thus, as rotation of the shaft 37 occurs, the units 12 and 22 will be moved in accordance with the contour of the cams which engages these units.

A link is swingable about a pivot which pivot is iixedly mounted upon the cross bar 17 of the first unit as at 46. The other end of this link 45 is connected to the cross bar 26 of the second unit 22 by a fixed pin 47 by means of a -pair of arms 48 and 49 extending from the link 45 so as to slidingly pivotally connect this end of the link to the unit 22 so that it may be guided thereby.

A post 50 is xedly mounted upon the link 45 and tixedly mounts a bracket 51 having spaced legs 52. An arm 53 is pivoted as at 54 between these legs 52 which arm carries a writing instrument 55 which is securely clamped in the split end 56 of the arm 53 by screw 57. This arm is recessed as at 58 to lighten its weight. A pin 59 guided in a bore in post 60 attached to the frame wall 19 engages the undersurface of this arm which may be broadened by plate 61 fixed thereto. This pin 59 is supported by the upper surface 62 of the cam 38 which may have protuberances 63 positioned thereon so as to either lift the arm 53 and the writing instrument 55 clear of the Writing surface 65 or slightly lift it so that there will be less pressure provided by means of the weight of the arm and the writing instrument so as to control the width of the line which the writing instrument may make.

Some means will be provided to effect a single rotation of the cams, such for instance as by means of a cam 67 flattened as at 68 with an arrangement so that a pin of Aswitch 69 will be pressed inwardly to cause a contact to be made on an electrical circuit to be established while the flattened surface 68 will allow the pin to move outwardly and break the circuit. A push button for starting bridging the open circuit is held in until the cam is past the flat portion. When one revolution of the cam is made the pin will drop back into the notch 68 to shut olf the motor 30 which drives the device.

The cams 38 and 39 may be removably positioned upon the turntable 70 at the end of shaft 37 so that if it is desired to remove the cams from the machine this may be easily done and for security one person may keep one cam and another person keep the other cam which will afford some security as both cams must be utilized for the Writing of a persons name.

The area which may be covered for contours by this machine will be that in one direction in accordance with the amount of sliding movement provided by the two units 12 and 22 while the area in the other direction would be bounded by the amount of swing which may be provided for the arm 53 when one unit is fully to the left and the other unit is fully to the right, this swing being governed somewhat by the length of the arm 53 from the pivot points 46 and 47. Within the area defined by these limits the device may be caused to make most any contour line desirable and the marking instrument may be lifted from the surface at intervals if the line is to have a break in it.

I claim:

1. A device for forming a contour line comprising a frame, a vertical shaft rotatably mounted in said frame, means to rotate said shaft, a pair of units each mounted by said frame to slide in a generally horizontal plane at right angles to the axis of said shaft, one located on one 2 side of the shaft and the other located on the other side of the shaft, cams on said shaft in generally a horizontal plane to reciprocate said units, one operably associated with one unit and the other operably associated with the other unit, a link swingable about a pivot axis which is fixed with reference to one unit and slidably pivoted on the other unit and a work member xedly carried by said link to obtain controlled movement by reason of the movement of said units.

2. A device as in claim 1 wherein said units are spring urged in one direction and moved by cams in the other direction.

3. A device as in claim 1 wherein there is a camming means to control the member perpendicular to the path of movement of said reciprocating units.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,386,332 8/1921 Hendrickson 33-18 3,024,535 3/1962 Van Rabenau 33-18 FOREIGN PATENTS 23,327 1901 Great Britain.

86,205 8/ 1920 Switzerland.

LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner.

H. N. HAROIAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR FORMING A CONTOUR LINE COMPRISING A FRAME, A VERTICAL SHAFT ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME, MEANS TO ROTATE SAID SHAFT, A PAIR OF UNITS EACH MOUNTED BY SAID FRAME TO SLIDE IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE AXIS OF SAID SHAFT, ONE LOCATED ON ONE SIDE OF THE SHAFT AND THE OTHER LOCATED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHAFT, CAMS ON SAID SHAFT IN GENERALLY A HORIZONTAL PLANE TO RECIPROCATE SAID UNITS, ONE OPERABLY ASSOCIATED WITH ONE UNIT AND THE OTHER OPERABLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE OTHER UNIT, A LINK SWINGABLE ABOUT A PIVOT AXIS WHICH IS FIXED WITH REFERENCE TO ONE UNIT AND SLIDABLY PIVOTED ON THE OTHER UNIT AND A WORK MEMBER FIXEDLY CARRIED BY SAID LINK TO OBTAIN CONTROLLED MOVEMENT BY REASON OF THE MOVEMENT OF SAID UNITS. 